Vancouver Condo Info

On the front page of Canada.com this morning is a big headline that says “Now is the time to buy: study“, though the actual linked content uses the less definitive “Time to buy?”.  The content of that article is about a recent study that shows a majority of people across the country think NOW is a good time to buy real estate.

As an interesting aside, a US Gallup poll in April 2007 showed that a majority of Americans felt THAT was a good time to buy there.  For those not following the news, it turns out that wasn’t such great timing.

So what do you think? Now that prices have dropped more than 10%, is buying a house, townhouse or condo in Vancouver a ‘good investment’ or ‘catching a falling knife’?

The recently released Manpower Employment Outlook Survey for the second quarter of 2009 shows hiring intentions in Vancouver taking a massive 12% drop.

Hiring intentions in other areas of Metro Vancouver, such as Surrey and Burnaby-Coquitlam, are also headed down, but not as steeply as the 12-percentage-point decline forecast for Vancouver.

The net employment outlook for Western Canada was +8 per cent, 10 percentage points below the outlook for the same period last year.

For Western Canada the steepest decreases in hiring outlooks are reported for the wholesale and retail trade, by 32 percentage points, and the construction sector, by 24 percentage points.

Are you or someone you know currently looking for work in Vancouver and finding job oppourtunities scarce, or is this just pessimistic sensationalism?  If you are seeking employment, what’s the best way to find work in Vancouver; do you send off a raft of resumes, stay glued to craigslist or just sit by the phone waiting for your extensive network of contacts to send work your way?

Friday!  Congratulations!  You made it to the end of the week.  As a reward you will recieve one extra hour of evening daylight starting next week.  OK!  Lets do our weekend round-up of news from Vancouver and beyond, here are a few stories I’ve noticed lately:

-Canadians borrowing less
-St. Johns propping up Canadian real estate market
-Buyers trying to get out of Jameson House contract
-Auditor General slams BC on homeless problem
-Time to rethink your mortgage
-Crime need not impede a sale
-Metro Van neighborhoods with recent shootings
-Economic models: garbage in, garbage out.
-British Columbians bullish on real estate
-When no houses are selling, try a trade instead

So what are you seeing out there?  Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!

MacLeans has an Interesting article about the effect of failed real estate projects on cities:

It’s worth noting the location of the Ritz project is a particularly sensitive one for Vancouver’s bruised real estate ego. When the last bubble burst in the 1990s, a half-built concrete tower was abandoned there. For years it was an ugly reminder of the excesses the city’s real estate developers, investors and buyers are prone to. Now a six storey-deep hole in the exact same spot could prove to be an eyesore for months, even years, to come.

The full article is at the MacLeans website and is worth a read.

From the REBGV press release:

VANCOUVER, B.C. – March 3, 2008 – Residential housing sales in Greater Vancouver rose 94 per cent in February compared to the month before, with 1,480 sales registered in February compared to 762 sales in January, which was the slowest month for housing sales in 25 years. Over the past 10 years, February sales have typically surpassed January by an average increase of 53 per cent.

At the same time, new MLS® listings for residential properties continued to decrease for the fourth month in a row. New listings decreased 25.6 per cent in February compared to the previous year; 20 per cent in January; 8.6 per cent in December; and 10 per cent in November.

“There are terrific opportunities out there right now, but with property listings continuing to decrease, those opportunities may be available only for a brief window of time,” said Dave Watt, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

REBGV reports that year-over-year property sales in Greater Vancouver declined 44.7 per cent in February 2009 from the 2,676 sales recorded in February 2008. Year-over-year, those are the lowest sales figures for February since the mid-1980s.

Read the whole press release and view the stats in the PDF.

As the economy falls so do building permits in Vancouver, which plunged in January to half the previous years number… ‘experts’ say the industry may be turning a corner.  Article in the Globe and Mail:

That grim news means that Vancouver is now projecting to get only half of its normal $25-million in fees related to development this year – a scenario that’s being echoed to some degree in other Lower Mainland municipalities.

But Vancouver’s finance committee chair and many people in the development industry say the region may be turning a corner.

“The February numbers will inform us more and so will March, but we may have seen the worst of it,” said Councillor Raymond Louie, who is monitoring the numbers for signs that the city should tighten its budget belt even more.

There is a sign of hope: Development consultant Bob Ransford said the company he works for will be putting in an application to develop 900-1,300 units in Vancouver’s Collingwood Village on the far eastern side of the city. That site, now single family homes that have been assembled by the Waterfront Group, would become part of the dense new neighbourhood that has been developed there over the past decade.

“We know it will take some time to get it approved, but they’re optimistic that that the market will return,” said Mr. Ransford. Although the company isn’t making any construction commitments, even putting in an application requires paying significant fees to the city.

Mr. Ransford and others familiar with the development industry say they are hearing through the grapevine that there are signs of life in the housing market. More people are starting to appear at presentation centres and “people are writing deals,” said Mr. Ransford.